Part 1: Quincy to St. Louis

My trip was late to start because dissolving my household took longer than expected. But eventually everything was sold, given away, thrown away or shipped to Europe, and after one last fine lunch at WannaBagel? in my home of Quincy, MA, I was finally off. The first stops were in upstate New York, where I used to live for a few years, seeing some people and places I got to know at the time.

Finally venturing into new territory, Cleveland was a disappointment, apart from the Rock'n'Roll museum which is cool (BTW, since when does Michael Jackson qualify as an R'n'R artist?). So I skipped the remainder of the mid-West, which -judging by the sights from the highway- is just grain fields anyway. Instead I made a dash for St. Louis which has more going for it. Across the street from me is the Edward Jones Dome -home of the Rams- which currently hosts a Joyce Meyer Ministries event. Would have preferred 10000 women in their 20s and 30s instead of in their 40s and 50s, though. Watching the Mississippi flow by at a leisurely 3mph is very relaxing, especially as there's a nice brewpub with very good beer and tables outside. Everybody -not the Joyce Meyerlings of course- is partying, since the Cardinals clinched the division title yesterday. Not that I care, but who am I not to join in?

I've been able to resist the lure of the riverboat casinos - I played the Turning Stone Casino in upstate NY, where I didn't last long, and had my impression corrected that I was a reasonably competent Blackjack player. Should have put my suit on and gotten free stuff out of it, but I just wasn't money that day. (For those not in the know: That's a reference to the movie Swingers.) Further losses will have to wait until Las Vegas.

An Apple store opening I attended in St. Louis turned out to be a waste of time: no T-Shirts or other freebies (and I wasn't going to buy a computer). But then the day got better when I saw Mostly Martha, and discovered that it's set in my home town of Hamburg; but it's a good movie regardless.

I'll move on to somewhere in Kansas tomorrow on my way to Denver, and will try to get some pictures online, since there's probably not much to do and see but farm life.

Brewpubs

• Boston Beerworks (Fenway), Boston
• Cambridge Brewing Co, Cambridge
• Van Dyck, Schenectady
• Empire Brewing Co, Syracuse
• Chophouse & Brewery, Cleveland
• Morgan Street Brewery, St. Louis

Links

• Niagara Falls State Park
• Rock'n'Roll Museum and Hall of Fame, Cleveland
• Jefferson Expansion Memorial a.k.a The Arch, St. Louis

Photos

• Newhouse College, Syracuse University
• Niagara Falls
• One of many guitars on a street in Cleveland
• Rock'n'Roll Museum I, Cleveland
• Rock'n'Roll Museum II, Cleveland
• The Arch by day, St. Louis
• The Arch by night, St. Louis

TripPrologue - TripPart2 - TripPart3 - TripPart4 - TripPart5 - TripPart6 - TripEpilogue - Photos